A Simply Complicated Smile
by tazdevil
Summary: The world is a very complicated place, but some are able to see through a veil of simplicity. An encounter brings Fuji and a simple girl together and a smile makes their worlds start to entwine, making it simply complicated.
1. An Odd Child

Halloween, a day of free candies. A day where you can dress up as anything you like and not be questioned…. at least not too much. People were going from door to door, ringing the doorbells and saying the catch phrase that never seemed to grow old: Trick or treat.

Some trick-or-treaters made their way to a house covered in all the scary things you could find in stores and even some handmade crafts. Skeletons lay upon the ground and hung from the trees. Bats swung the branches while lifelike ghosts waved around in the air from their hidden strings. Hands littered the ground and every so often one might have believed that they moved.

They walked up to the door and rang its bell but did not here the sound that should have rung throughout the house. One of the children standing on the steps reached out to knock on the door but it slowly creaked opened before it was even touched.

"Trick or treat," some of them said hesitantly. This house was creepy and with all these decorations no one could tell what the house would look like with out them, so the owner was also unknown.

"How about a trick," came a whisper that could not be pinpointed from any direction. Right after a horrifying masked face swung from the top of the doorframe with a terrifying screech emitting from its lips. All the trick-or-treaters, or so the masked screecher thought, ran away with shrieks of terror of their own ripping into the night.

"Booyah! Who's a genius? I'm a genius!" a girl sang in the doorway, her back to the door. The mask that she wore lay at her feet while she danced and a bell jingled at her neck with all the movements she made.

"Saa… not as genius as you would like to think," came a teasing voice in the doorway. The girl froze in the position of the Egyptian and turned her head slowly to see two figures. One clad in a princess like dress and the other in a skintight black out fit with his head adorned in cat ears.

"Ah, Fujiko, that's not nice!" said Eiji playfully, messing with his own tail.

As the girl listened to the two she watched the one that seemed to be a princess. Sure, the person looked feminine and so was the voice but their was enough masculinity there that made the girl think that it was a boy, taking Halloween spirit way too far. And she was sure that NO girl could be that flat. 'Fujiko' turned to her and held out his/her bag, with a smile on his, or was it hers (?), face. A smile that did not seem to portray happiness, as it should. It might have held some amusement, but it seemed to just be there like it needed to give his lips something to do.

"Trick or treat," came the saying, but this time it wasn't out of the want of candy but more out of making fun of the girl. She grimaced. "And nice dancing by the way." The grimace grew bigger.

"Can't a person dance in the safety of her own home anymore?" the girl grumbled, going for the candy.

"Not if the door's open, nya!" chirped Eiji, holding out his bag with the anticipation of candy.

"Here you go!" the girl chirped with as much enthusiasm as Eiji had. She dropped a stick of something into each of their bags. "Hope ya like it!"

Each boy looked into their bag and picked out the thing that girl had dropped into their bags. They looked over the objects. They were light yellow, cylindrical… and smelled like cheese? It didn't take them long to figure out what they were holding were, in fact, cheese sticks. They looked up when they heard munching from the doorway. The girl was chewing on something. Fuji looked down at her hands to see that her slender fingers held a candy wrapper. Fuji gave her a curious look.

" Enjoy it, boys!" she grinned. She closed the door in their faces.

_What an interesting girl_, Fuji thought to himself, still standing on the houses front step, with Eiji by his side.

"Booyah! Who's a genius? I'm a genius!" came the girl's voice from the behind the door. Soon after a bell started to jingle.

_A very interesting girl indeed. _

A/N: Ok… well ya see some of you might know that I had another Fanfic but never touched it again. Well you see I didn't think that it was too original with the whole twin thing and heart break. So that's being discontinued. Hehehehehe…. Sorry peeps. But I do plan to continue on with this one!


	2. Hit and Run

**Chapter 3: Hit and Run**

_"I don't see why your father has to complicate things." Mom patted my head soothingly. The only thing was, I don't know if something like this could calm me ever again._

~S~C~S~

"I'm late!" a cry rang through the air. The girl ran and ran until she made her way to a fence, panting and huffing. Now this fence was only in a square and she could have easily run around, but wouldn't it take less time just to jump the fence and run straight through the middle? Especially when running around the fence was like running around the length of three tennis courts?

Well, if you did the math like this girl did you would be up the fence too. She started to scale the fence, a single bell jingled with the rhythm of her movements. Reach, reach, and pull. Reach, reach, and pull. Soon she was up and over the fence, jumping down to land on the balls her feet much like a cat. Now all she had to do was get past the obstacles, what other people would call the boys' tennis team. She set off in a sprint.

Jump, dodge, allyupe*! She recited this in her head till she reached a boy, his hair spiked and black, and his eyes of a deep purple. "Out of the way, Momo!" she yelled at the dunk specialist.

Momo just grinned, "You know you're not late. Not late at all."

The girl screeched to a stop. "What…. what are you talking about?" she looked at him quizzically. What _was_ Momo talking about? All the clocks in her house told her that she woke up thirty minutes late. And wait… wasn't Momo and the whole rest of his team late too? What were they doing? None of this made sense. "All my clocks can't be wrong…"

"Fsssssshhhhhh," the girl turned to face the boy who had made the snake like noise.

"Kaido?" the girl looked for the answer in his eyes. Kaido gave off a slight blush. Why did she have to stare so intensely? She tore her gaze away from him and stared off into space.

The way realization dawned on her was the same as if you were watching some TV show. Her eyes got wide as her mouth opened wider and wider. "Ooooooohhhh…. I hate my brother." She ended her epiphany on a sour note. She looked at her phone, the first time that morning; to double-check to make sure she was right.

"Aya?" Momo used his hand to knock on her head as if it were a door.

The girl soon moved her head out of the way, batting away his hand. "Yeah, yeah, I hear you. Thanks for stoppin' me," Aya grinned up at him.

The sound of someone clearing their throat silenced any further chatter between the two. They both turned to the stoic tennis captain of Seigaku. "You have interrupted our practice. We at least deserve an apology and a name."

"Kirihara Ayame also known as Aya or Kiri. Second year Class three. Favorite food: anything sweet and sushi. Favorite color: vibrant orange. Girls' boxing team's young ace. 160 centimeters. Loves to tease people. Sister of Kirihara Akaya. Three sizes are-" Inui stated in a monotone, reading from his notebook.

"He said name!" Aya screeched ripping the notebook out of Inui's hands. She looked over the pages dedicated to her, constantly pushing her bangs out of her line of vision. After looking it all over she dutifully ripped out pieces that she thought to be… well, too creepy to be in the hands of others. Things like where she lived and especially her sizes.

Two familiar faces made their way over to see what all the commotion was about.

"Fujiko! It's the girl from Halloween!" Eiji pointed.

"So it is." Agreed Fuji, with his ever present smile.

"Eiji, don't point," Oishi lightly chastised.

"Oh? Did you enjoy your treats?" Aya asked. A slight giggle escaped her lips as she thought of that night that had happened more than five months ago. She was somewhat surprised that they still remembered. But she guessed that it wasn't every Halloween you got cheese sticks and a girl dancing in her doorway.

Another cough came from Tezuka as he seeked out their attention.

"You should get that checked," Aya said without any trace of sarcasm.

"20 Laps."

"What?"

"All of the members who have talked to Kirihara-san run 20 laps." Tezuka stated. Groans were heard from half the regulars. "Kirihara-san, you are to run too."

"What? But I didn't talk to myself! I am NOT crazy!" She looked appalled. What made him think that she wanted to run around the courts TWENTY times when the reason she was standing here was because she wanted to avoid running around them ONCE. It made climbing over the fence unnecessary. It made running and dodging all of those boys unneeded and it made her whole morning totally worthless! She looked up at him, her eyes pleading, but it was futile. A captain who normally looked like he was stoned was not going to give into puppy dog eyes, no matter how big or watery Ayame's green eyes became.

She began her laps at a higher speed to try to catch up to the others so she would have someone to talk to, her bell jingling at her neck.

"Aya-chan, you didn't tell me you were related to Kirihara from Rikkai Dai. You didn't tell me at all." Momo said.

"You never asked." She answered simply.

"Fsssshhhhhh. You should have been able to put two and two together, baka." Kaido said matter-of-factly. It was true. Akaya and Ayame shared the same eye color and hair color. Their names also sounded closely the same, which their parents found cute the day of their birth. Them… not so much. Aya's hair even had the same curl but no one would think to call her style seaweed because of the length and you could easily see that it was taken care of way more than her brother's hair was. It was also nice and layered. Their eyes were of the same color and they even had the same pointed nose and other facial structures. The resemblance was there and unmistakable.

"What you say, Mamushi?!"

"I called you a baka, baka!"

Aya ran further ahead, to keep herself out of harm's way. Even though none of three were in the same class Aya had seen enough fights between the two to know to get away before something bad happened to her. Almost everyone knew of the ferocious fights between the two sophomores and none dared to break them apart albeit Tezuka Kunimistu, their stoic captain. Why should Ayame be the one to get herself killed trying to be valiant and bold in breaking up the battle that only was to start again the very next day; maybe in the next hour. She would of died in vain. Aya valued her life.... and her privacy at that.

She passed by Inui. She guessed that by talking to him there would be more for him to write down and if he could tell a girls' size by looking she didn't even want to be near him. As she passed she saw his glasses glimmer wickedly in the sun light. With a slight shiver, albeit the weather being quite balmy, she slowed her pace to match those of Oishi, Fuji, and Eiji.

"Aya-chan! Your brother's mean~!" Eiji pouted upon seeing the girl. All formalities were dropped. Aya decided she liked this senpai. She enjoyed open people.

"I didn't raise him," Aya smiled at Eiji. She didn't know what he meant. Her brother wasn't mean. Playful, yes but when it went too far he knew it and would show that he was sorry. Many whacks over the head had ensured that. What had her brother done?

" Saa… but why don't you two seem to go to the same school?" Fuji asked. His curiosity was slightly peeked by this fact.

The smile slid off her face. She sighed. "Our parents are divorced. Mom has me and dad has Bro," She said, her eyes on the ground. "Bro just visited this weekend. He probably reset all the clocks then." Aya looked back up, her smile back on even if it was slightly saddened. There was no point in crying over long spilt milk, no matter how sour and disturbing it still was. Fuji chuckled, his smile never escaping his lips even through Ayame's lapse in her happy attitude.

Aya studied the smile. She probed it and analyzed it. She saw it not as something to show happiness or to pass on to others, but as something for his mouth to do. This did not make sense to her. Smiles were used to show that you were ok, that you were able to deal with what life had set on your plate. They were used to show when one was happy and it was a way to share that happiness with others without verbally speaking of the emotion. But this boy's smile was all wrong. It didn't hold any happiness. Amusement, maybe, but surely not happiness like Aya saw in Eiji or Oishi's smiles or anyone's for that matter. This was the same smile that she had seen on Halloween, the exact same, like it had been plastered there since then.

"I…" Aya stopped to figure out her own feelings. "I don't like you." That was it. No it wasn't. Fuji, himself, wasn't what she didn't like. "What I mean to say is: I don't really like your smile." Now she had it. She nodded her head, as if to agree with herself. This boy's smile, it wasn't right and for him to use it all the time made it worse. She turned her head to look at Fuji to probe him one more time. She nodded once more.

This guy's smile didn't bode well with her. His smile was wrong and for smiles to be so wrong then there had to be something hidden underneath. She just had to tell him.

She maneuvered away from Fuji, in favor of the ever happy Kikumaru. They chatted on leaving Fuji to wonder about the girl. No one had really ever commented on his smile like she had. They might have found it creepy but have never just out rightly said they didn't like him or the way he placed his lips.

He glanced at her from the corner of his eye. Was she one of those who just spoke their minds freely, not caring what others thought? Or maybe she just didn't like vibe that he gave off. How could she say something like that so easily? Didn't people at this age think over what they said, since they were of the age of awkwardness and wanting to fit in? Maybe she didn't care for such things or maybe it was something else, something that might deeply affect her in some way. The divorce that she had mentioned, her violent brother?

He questioned her, but inquiries that only he could hear in the depths of his mind. They had no other interactions throughout the rest of the assigned punishment and she also seemed to run on without noticing Fuji's analyzing gaze.

They finished their laps, the only one seeming to be short of breath being the lone girl. She had decided to stay and watch the practice since there was really nothing else for her to do. She watched contently as the boys practiced making sounds of awe whenever a move was performed. Fuji thought that the loudest outburst when Momo hit his famous Dunk Smash, or when Taka showed off his brute strength. He used the little information that he knew about Ayame to guess that she was amazed at his strength, her being a boxer.

After practice she ran up to the boys and started praising them. "Wow, guys! That was awesome! I didn't know you could play tennis like that. That was intense!"

Everyone showed their thanks either by saying it or giving grunts like one freshman we know. She pulled her phone out of her pocket to check the time. She pocketed it and looked up at the team.

"Well, gotta go," She smiled at them and turned to leave. Some of them watched as the girl left. Others went back to their own business. But one tensai contemplated the girls visit. He had been in her company for only a short while and she already had an opinion. She had gotten to judge him and left him with no real impression at all. Truly he had just been the target of a hit and run.

~S~C~S~

"Hmmm. Someone seems earlier than usual."

"Shut it, Kairi," the teased girl replied.

"It's just your _always_ running in right before the bell and-" He looked to the clock that hung upon the wall to his right," We've got a good five minutes. You want to tell me how this possible?" He smiled. He enjoyed bugging Ayame for once. Too many times it was the other way around, whether it be from his perpetual bed-head to his lack of a girlfriend, not that she could really tease him about that since she also lacked experience in that area too. She did hold a little bit over his head since she had gone out with a boy for about three days, decided he was a creeper and ended the relationship there. Truly they didn't talk much about this topic seeing as they were best friends and of different genders. Why willingly subject themselves to an awkward silence? "Well?"

"My brother." That was all he needed. They had grown up together, all three of them. It was easy to guess how Akaya had done it.

"The clocks?" He inquired. She gave an irritated nod. " All of them?" another nod. " Did you check your phone?" there was a solemn shake of her head. He laughed. He knew her too well! She believed the first thing that she saw! He really did enjoy the few moments he could tease his best friend!

"Shut up! It could happen to anyone!" she shouted, pink dusting her cheeks from embarrassment.

He laughed on, not wanting to give up such a rare chance. Why would he? This was too good.

All to quickly the door slammed open and in walked their teacher. "Quiet down! Class is about to begin." He called roll and after gave it to Junko, the kiss up of the class, to take to the office. When she returned and sat in her seat then Nakamura-sensei spoke again. "Now I'll pass back the tests you took last week. Some of you did wonderful. Others-" he eyed Ayame, his least favorite student, though he would never openly admit it. "Not so much."

He passed back the test and made sure to make a show out of slapping Ayame's test down on her desk and telling her to see him after class.

"Hey Kairi?"

"Hmm?" he looked up from his test to look over at the ravened-haired girl.

"What did you get?" Her eyes didn't leave her paper.

"Umm..." He didn't want to tell her. He knew she wasn't to good with English Literature and having the teacher hate her was not helping in the tiniest bit. But she asked and he knew she would bug him about it if he didn't tell her. " I got a 100..."

"Oh good for you." She was so out of character it almost hurt him to listen to her. He turned back to stare at his desk. He didn't want to look at her expression. Kairi had seen her in pain enough times. "Hey, Kairi?"

"Yeah?" he asked, not looking up.

"Is a 67... an F or a D-?" she asked slowly, carefully.

He instantly looked up. That bad? Oh no. She'd never done that bad. The worse she had gotten was a low B-, but this... this was horrible for her, a person in a sports club. " I think that's a D-..."

There was a moment of silence. A fit of giggles broke out from Kairi's left, "YES!" she stood up abruptly, her fists thrust into the air. It wasn't to difficult to guess why Nakamura-sensei didn't like her. "It's not an F!" She danced around her seat, laughter erupting from the other students.

The fun couldn't last though. Ayame shivered.

"Kirihara."

When had the devil joined their class?

"SIT DOWN." Hmmmm. The devil sounded familiar, but definitely not in a good way.

Her knees buckled causing her to fall back into her chair.

Nakamura sneered at her. Why couldn't she stay still? Did she have to talk with the boy next to her incessantly? She annoyed him to no end and it only seemed to be him that was affected by his antics. Other teachers had said that Kirihara 'brought life to the class'. He snorted at all those comments. Her? She was a no-good trouble maker; her history in elementary school could show you that. Mood swings, being happy, then thoroughly depressed, then having it turn into blazing anger. And all over a divorce? Shouldn't she have had some counseling? There was no excuse. There never was. Not in his class any way.

He carried on with his lesson, Ayame sitting quietly in her seat. He was somewhat sad that he was not able to punish her anymore. He continued on till the bell rang, keeping eyes locked on Kirihara, daring her to try and leave. She sat there, obediently, only her eyebrows raising giving away to what Nakamura called her idiot teen rebellion. As the the last student cleared out of the room she casually walked up to his desk.

"Your grade was unacceptable," he had thrown the first punch and he was quite proud. What could she say to counter that? What excuse did she have up her sleeve?

"I know." She answered this simply and quickly. There was no point in saying anything else. In this classroom she was a criminal, while Nakamura played the cop, waiting for her to say anything that could be used against her.

"Do you want to tell me why you were not able to score higher than this _unbelievably_ low score?" He was enjoying this. Never had she done _this _badly and never had he had a student that he disliked- no- hated so much.

_You're a bad teacher. I don't understand Shakespeare. You hated me since day one when I tracked mud into your room, you Neat Freak and you need a tic-tac! You breath smells like onions!_ She bit her lip. Ayame eyed him then opened her mouth to speak, "I don't understand the text," her insides screamed as the truth was kept secret, only to bounce around in her mind.

"That's why I decided that you need a tutor," he said. This way she would have no excuse for not acing his tests. He wanted to give himself a pat on the back. Ayame wanted to give him a kick to a lower place. "He was one of my _star pupil_." No excuse at all.

As he said that the door opened, as if on cue. In walked a boy with light brown hair, almost the hue of honey, and striking blue eyes hidden beneath his lids. This was what had caused Nakamura-sensei to be later than what he usually was. You could always find him in his classroom well before the bell, but no today. He had a tutor to find.

Fuji had actually complied quite willingly, seeing as he had a good amount of free time after tennis; too much actually. Following tennis he would do homework, much like any other responsible student. It's just that he did it so quickly! He truly was a genius. Everything was quite easy and truly he was ok with it. What was the point in trying hard when you could do it without a problem in the world? And why would you even hope for something harder, something that you might not be able to do?

But this... This was not what something that he foresaw.

Discomfort permeated from Ayame, her shifting her weight from foot to foot, never meeting his gaze.

Only one person was happy with this situation.

Nakamura smirked to himself, eying Ayame in her discomfort. This was just too good! Look at her eyes! They were shifty and averted Fuji's gaze. Look at her feet, as she went from one to the other, fidgeting incessantly. He really had chosen the perfect tutor.

He payed no attention to Fuji's reaction. He was a genius, a prodigy. In people's eyes he could handle anything.

But he had to add the icing to the cake.

"I'll leave you two to come up with a schedule." There it was. That look of shock was the best. "I'll be back to tell you the rest... Later."

He made his exit, quietly closing the door behind him. He wondered.

Was this what you could call a hit and run?

* * *

***Just sound it out the way that it looks. Its usually that sound that you might make when jumping over something**

**So the very top quote is part of Ayame's past. They'll come each chapter and make sense with what goes on in them. Did the chap seem slow? Well _I _hope not. You'll also see more why Nakamura hates her. He really does have a reason though.... Now that I'm on spring break though I might be able to get out more chapters aaaaaannnnnnd watch PoT all over again! YES! So please review!**

**-taz8D**


	3. Brothers

**Hey, guys! It's me again. You know you love me. Or maybe not... But either way you're here reading my story so HA! Jokes on you. OK really no. Because I hope you like my story... Ok. I'll stop before this gets long so please REVIEW! Oh, that reminds me. I decided to review every story that I read now at least once because I felt it was hypocritical to tell you guys to review when I don't do it that much. It feels pretty bad when you don't get any reviews... So if you want me to read your story and review, just PM me! But I warn you that I always give a light piece of advise with each review. Thank you to all those who HAVE reviewed, favorited, or added this story to story alert! You guys are just awesome. Now on to the story!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis

* * *

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**Chapter 3: Brothers**

"_Ayame, stop crying! It's better this way. Your father gets your brother and I get you. See? A male with a male and a female with a female. It's easier that way, no?" Ayame nodded, but her heart didn't agree. Separation from her brother was like taking a knife and cutting her in two._

~S~C~S~

_"Now what book are you reading?" Fuji already knew, but he was testing her. If she didn't read the book then that was where the problem lied._

"_Taming of the Shrew__," Ayame was bugged with his lack of faith. Did he really think she just didn't read the book? She wasn't that bad._

"_Now who is the shrew who is being tamed?" That was easy enough, Fuji thought. If she read it she would know._

"…_Ummmm…Pete?" What was wrong with her?_

~S~C~S~

"Who the heck is Pete," a girl asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Umm. Let's see his real name," the other girl sighed. If Ayame used a nickname for characters no wonder she had received such a grade. No, she had earned it. "Umm… Petru.. Petru…" Ayame just didn't seem to remember.

"Petruchio?" Kairi piped in.

"That's it!" How could she forget him? He was one of the main characters! The girl brought her hand to her face and shook her head.

"Eh, Mine? What are you doing that for?" Ayame questioned.

"I'm just amazed by your stupidity. I just hope it isn't contagious…" At that Mine slid back in her chair, distancing herself from the female Kirihara, with Kairi following suit.

"Hey! I'm not _that_ bad." Ayame hmphed and turned her back to them while still in her chair.

"I know, I know," Mine laughed at her friend's expense. "But if you wrote Pete the whole test then it's no wonder you failed!" She laughed more, picking up her lunch tray. "You want me to take your guy's too?"

They handed her their trays and she made her way over to the trash can. She stopped a brief moment to look at Fuji, who sat across the lunch room. She watched as he chuckled with a bouncy redhead and smiled.

Returning to the table she questioned, "But why was it so awkward? He looks like a nice guy to me…"

"What? The situation _begged_ for awkwardness!" Kairi chuckled at this. "What was I supposed ta say? 'I know I said I don't like your face, but let's be friends!'? Yeah, that would be the beginning of a beautiful friendship. And now I have to study with him everyday after school till Saturday."

"Saturday?" Mine enquired. Kairi stayed silent. He had already been filled in during second period.

"Yeah. My retake is next Monday and Fuji has tennis or somethin' over the weekend, and you know I visit my bro this weekend," Ayame answered. Mine nodded; that did make sense.

"Well try to have fun. There's no need to torture… yourself," Mine felt a presence behind her and turned. "Umm… hello sensei… Did you need something?..."

The said man nodded and looked towards Ayame. She quirked an eyebrow. What did the guidance counselor want with her?

"Can we take a walk?" He asked, pointing towards a door that led back out to the hall. It led to his office.

"Sure thing," Ayame turned back to her friends, "I'll fill you in on more later."

"Sure," Mine replied.

"Seeya," Kairi waved.

~S~C~S~

Across the lunchroom, Fuji saw as Ayame exited with Sato-sensei. Seeing her with the guidance counselor made him somewhat curious. Did she have a problem? Did it have to do with him? He couldn't see why; he hadn't tortured her that badly last night. That was for another time. One thing he could understand though was why Nakamura-sensei didn't like the raven-haired girl.

You could just look at the way she wore her uniform. Her legs were clad in white and pink striped thigh high socks, looking much like pale candy canes. The ribbon that usually adorned the neck of the blouse was tied up in her long, wavy hair. And that bell. He had no idea what that was for, but she looked like a problem child or one that wanted attention. But her rejection of the school dress code wasn't all.

From what he saw yesterday, she was a talkative child, always finding a new topic to go to if the current one became boring. It was somewhat tiring trying to keep up with her since her conversations were somewhat random. Only Eiji was able to follow her uncanny train of thought, but he was a human fireball bursting with energy. He and the young Kirihara had gone from talking about MP3 players to mutant cannibalistic bunnies taking over the world. Without even skipping a beat they had changed topic again and that led Fuji to another conclusion. Ayame had a short attention span.

He had a hard time keeping her focused. One second she was reading the book, another she was almost sleeping. He had to take her pencil away from her when that proved to distracting. You'd think pencils were for writing, but oh no, that greened eyed girl could easily prove you wrong.

She twirled it from finger to finger like a baton. She balanced it on her index finger and then even on her nose, like a seal with a ball; a young seal with ADHD that is. He finally took it from her when she had it under her nose and was crossing her eyes to look at it. He chuckled a little at the memory.

The whole time she was somewhat avoiding conversation with him. He could feel the awkwardness in the air last night but had chosen to ignore it. He didn't care much about what she had said the morning before. He was only slightly shocked. You weren't told that a person didn't like your smile everyday. Speaking of faces, Fuji felt a poke at his cheek.

Turning in his chair, the honey haired boy faced Eiji.

"Mou. Fujiko are you even listening, nya?" The redhead questioned, mild hurt in his eyes.

"Of course," Fuji smiled his everyday smile at the acrobat. Eiji's eyes instantly brightened and he continued talking.

"But how could cannibal bunnies rule the world? We all know cats will! They're so flexible and cute. People like cats much better! I should tell Aya-chan, nya!" He stood up. Where was the female Kirihara? Finding her nowhere in sight he sat back down, a pout tugging at his lips. He couldn't have an argument by himself.

Fuji looked back at the doorway the raven-haired girl had gone through. Maybe tonight _they_ could have an interesting argument.

~S~C~S~

"So, how is you're brother?" Sato-sensei inquired. It had been awhile since he had talked to Ayame, which was good in a way.

"Fine I guess," she fiddled with the bell around her neck. It jingled lightly, "He's still the same, Sa-sen."

Sato smiled at the nickname. It had been awhile since he had been called that. He ran a hand through his dark brown hair, "I see you still wear the bell."

"Of course! Why wouldn't I?" Sato chuckled slightly. She was stable. He remembered back when he first met her. She seemed unwilling to talk about her problems and more apt to count squirrels, skittering around in the courtyard outside the office window. He had no problem with it. He just waited for her. This happened all the time with young teenagers. He knew it well since he was only in his early twenties. He fixed his hair slightly again.

"I heard that Fuji Syuusuke is tutoring you," Sato began. Ayame brought her knees up to her chin in the chair and pushed off of his desk, spinning herself. She tried seeing everything in its usual clarity than the blur that it currently was.

"You heard right." She kept on spinning, not really seeing the point of the conversation, but she didn't change topics. The girl paid attention to what he was saying, for she liked Sato. He was the only adult who didn't write her off as a problem child during the divorce. Even if it was his job to listen to nut jobs like her she still felt that Sato liked her as person and not just another digit in his paycheck. He was like a caring older brother.

"I also heard you didn't like his smile," Sato smirked a little at this. Aya really spoke her mind, "What have I told you?" He teased.

"To always tell the truth," she kept on spinning.

Sato laughed and had the urge to ruffle the girl's hair, but unfortunately she was on the other side of his desk. "No. What's Thumper's rule? 'If you don't have something nice to say-"

"Then don't say anything at all," she finished. She pushed off of his desk again. "But you didn't bring me in here for a lesson on manners, now did you?"

Sato smiled a little. After spending so much time in counseling she really knew him. "You got me." He paused. How should he phrase this? "I want you to become friends with Fuji-san," Ayame raised an eyebrow. This wasn't kindergarten; she could pick her own friends. "Give him something to really smile about."

"Umm… what?"

"Why not? Didn't you say once that everyone deserves to smile?"

"Yeah but-" Sato raised an eyebrow at her, stopping her from arguing any further. She pressed her lips in to a tight line. But she couldn't stay quiet for long. It wasn't in her nature, "Fine. Soooo, that all?"

"Yep," he said, reaching for the trash can.

Ayame hopped out of the chair. "Oh," She wobbled, and grabbed at the wooden desk. Sato put the trash bin underneath her.

"You're such a smart kid; eating lunch, then spinning in a chair."

"Shut u-" she covered her mouth. Oh man. Not this.

"Come on, let's get you to the infirmary," he grabbed a shoulder and the trash can, and started to guide the girl to the infirmary. He looked down at his sick student.

_Maybe getting someone to really smile… maybe you'll allow yourself to do the same._

"I bet you won't make it to the infirmary," Sato smiled down at her.

"You sti-" and she lost the bet.

~S~C~S~

Ayame held her stomach as she made her way to the tennis courts. She could still feel it churn underneath her hand.

"You better watch your back, Sa-sen…" the green-eyed girl mumbled to herself.

Unlike a good teacher, Sato had made her stay at school. He had told the nurse that she wasn't sick but instead told her that Ayame had a run in with stupidity and a very 'spinny' chair. Ayame scoffed at the memory. How could anyone call her stupid, and a teacher at that? What kind of teacher was he? She should report him to pay him pay him back, she thought playfully.

Her ears perked up. Did she just hear a gasp?

"Aya-chan!" the said girl suddenly felt weighed down. And warmer…

"Eiji-sempai!" Ayame lurched forward with Eiji's weight on her back only to be pulled back up by Oishi.

"Eiji! Don't do that. Ayame-san are you ok- Omigosh! You're so pale," Oishi lightly chastised Eiji, but his eyes widened when he saw the state his new friend was in.

Ayame looked at her arm, like Oishi had been talking about it instead of the palor of her face.

"Oh… well-" she started, but was abruptly cut off by a worrying Oishi.

"Are you ok, Ayame-san? Do you feel sick, dizzy, nauseous?" Oishi started, taking in Ayame's appearance. Her face was pale and her clothes were rumpled, and he did not fail to notice the hand that she had atop her stomach.

"Oh, I'm fine!" Ayame removed her hand from her stomach to scratch the back of her head. "Really!" She shot him a grin and put as much enthusiasm in her voice as she could muster.

"But-" How could he let her go, knowing that she wasn't in top-knotch condition.

"Oishi, she said she was OK nya~!" Eiji popped in, but a grin spread across his face before he spoke again, "But she can't be OK in the head since she thinks bunnies will take over the world instead of cats!"

~S~C~S~

Ayame stared forlornly at her pencil, which had been set on the far side of the table at the beginning of the study session. Fuji had made sure to remove all distractions from within her reach, much to her annoyance. He even went as far as to remove the book from her. Knowing her, she would be able to do something, anything, to distract herself with it.

They had been sitting at the table for an hour and had made no progress. Fuji didn't know where the problem lied. Ayame had already read him some passages from the book flawlessly. She knew all of the characters names and the characters relationships to one another. Roughly. So was that where the problem lied?

"Do you two want a snack," Yumiko asked, standing in the doorway of the kitchen.

Fuji debated on whether he should take the offer or not. He heard a grumble coming from Ayame's direction and he was almost tempted to say no, just to tease her.

"That would be good," he smiled over to his sister as she started to turn back to the kitchen.

"Oh, Syuusuke," he looked up to see that his sister had turned back to him, a light smile at her lips, "Yuuta is-"

She was cut off by the click of the front door opening and all watched as a boy walked through it.

"Yuuta," Fuji greeted him warmly, finding him a pleasant surprise. He let the warmness creep into his smile. He didn't get to see his brother much outside of tennis and he would waste no time showing him that he cared. Maybe he would move back in, but Fuji doubted that no matter how much he wanted to hope against it.

Ayame's eyes widened as she looked at Fuji's smile. That… that was a real smile! The warmness, the sincerity; Ayame could tell that Fuji held great love for his brother and was touched. They were alike in this way: loving their brothers and she felt a little connection from it. Why couldn't he always smile like that she wondered.

Yuuta only grunted to show that he acknowledged his older brother, much to Ayame's confusion. How could one brother love the other so much while the other showed some kind of indifference? Maybe even slight distaste.

"Nee-san said she was fixing her pumpkin curry," Yuuta averted his eyes from Fuji in mild discomfort only to look at the stranger next to him, "Who's that?"

Ayame looked away from Fuji to stare up at Yuuta, still curious about their relationship. She grinned up at him from her seat.

"I'm Ayame. Who are you?" She could already guess from the way Fuji had smiled at him.

"Fuji Yuuta," he frowned at her. She seemed too peppy, like some of the fan girls he had run into…

"So you're Fuji's brother?" She asked. The girl had a mischievous glint in her. This boy looked like he was easy to tease.

"Yes," He frown became more pronounced. He didn't want another person to tell his that it was 'cool' that he was the brother of tensai. He didn't want to hear another question about his brother's counters or if he had the same playing style. He didn't want to live in his brother's shadow and be acknowledged as 'Fuji's little brother' instead of who he really was. Yuuta. Just Yuuta. That was who he was and he wanted people to know that, this girl included.

"You serious?"

Yuuta rolled his eyes. She was another one of _them_, wasn't she? "Yes."

"You serious?"

"Yes."

This went on, to Yuuta's annoyance. He could feel his face tighten as his grimace became more and more pronounced on his face. He had to put a stop to this. He had had enough.

"Yes, I'm serious!" At first he felt a satisfaction, when he saw that the raven-haired girl had finally closed her mouth. But it was replaced with confusion, as a creepy grin slowly slid its way onto her face and for the first time he noticed the mischievous look in her dark green eyes.

"Why so serious?" Her voice was husky as she leered at him and it was her turn to feel satisfaction. The way his eyes widened and as he realized her joke made it worth it.

"Oh my God…" Yuuta could feel the beginnings of a smirk come to his face as he regarded the laughing girl. An ear perked up as the tinkling of a bell reached his ear. Yuuta gave the once over, checking to see if the sound was her, his gaze stopping at her neck. "What's with the bell?"

Ayame's hand came up to her neck at the mention of her bell, a smile forming on her lips. Fuji watched at she gently fingered the bell in thought. It was his turn to analyze her smile.

It was small in contrast to her usual big, goofy grin. In fact, there was no real similarities that the two smiles shared. The expression that she wore now was filled with something that only someone could call warmth. A visual of love and caring. That was the only way he could describe the girl's smile as he regarded it.

"This?" the smile tugged more at her lips, "My brother gave me this." She turned her gaze up to Yuuta, coming out of her reverie. The expression made him blush and he turned his face to hide it. For extra measure he snorted, as if to lightly scoff at her show of affection for her brother.

"He gave you a bell? Well, whatever." He turned and started to leave the living room.

"Hey. Where are you going?" Ayame frowned at his departure.

"To my room so I can change. Do you have a problem with that?"

"Nah. You probably stink. You might want to do more than just change your clothes," Ayame grinned and held her nose. Yuuta only snorted at the comment, continuing his way to his room. A tiny grin was concealed by his back as he walked up the stairs. She wasn't one of them. Thank God, she wasn't one of them.

Fuji only watched as Ayame's little conversation with his brother unfurled. It was amusing to him, to say the least. He knew that Yuuta was a very tease-able person, but he had never thought that it was so easy to spot. Fuji had to give Ayame some credit for discerning that much. She was definitely more clever than she looked and more amusing than he had thought. He let his smile grow a little bigger as the raven-haired girl turned to him, his curiosity piqued by what she would say or do.

Ayame turned to Fuji on the couch, her usual grin in place. He couldn't be all that bad, right? He was able to actually to smile and it was for his brother. Ayame let her grin grow wider at the prospect and she couldn't help but to think of the lunch time she had spent with her friends. Her grin finally grew to a face-splitting length, as she shoved her hand out at Fuji, all thoughts of what Sato had said gone from her mind and only a pure want to see that smile again burned there. She almost laughed at what she was about to say, and but her tongue lightly before speaking.

"I know I said I don't like your face, but let's be friends!"

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**Well I hope you liked this chapter! And I hope you like Ayame. She's definitely a weird kid. Hahahaha. Please review and share the love! Tell me if you think anyone is OOC or if there's anything you want to give me tips and what not on. HAppiness in reviews is all loved and it makes me want to put out a chapter quicker! Well, until next time!**

**-taz**


	4. Wednesdays are Good Days

**Hey all! I'm back. I really need to write my other stories don't I? But I really like this one and I hope you enjoy this chapter. There was so much I wanted to put into it, but couldn't. Then it would drag on and on and nobody wants that. thank you to all of those who reviewed, added to favorites, or story alerted! But I also saw that this story got so many hits and views but not nearly as many reviews! Please review and share the love! Now on the story.**

Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis, but I do take credit for Ayame, Kairi, and Mine

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**Chapter 4: Wednesdays are Good Days**

_Ayame looked around the room, taking in the lack of furniture. The space felt bigger, like it would swallow her if it could. But then she took in the silence that came with the incomplete room. For once there was no fighting, no yelling, no cursing. She didn't have to listen to her parents tear each other apart with words. If only her brother were here, but in a way this Wednesday was a good day._

~S~C~S~

He straightened the papers that lay neatly on his desk, tapping an imaginary page back into its place. As he did this his gaze panned across the room, finding pleasure at the sight that one desk was missing its designated student. He quickly turned his gaze to the clock, which he had made sure to set perfectly in time with bells, to see that only thirty one seconds remained until that particular student was late. He laid his papers back on his desk after finding no fault in their order and let a rare, yet small, smile grace his lips.

3, 2, 1… The door slammed open and a black haired girl came skidding in as the bell sounded. She quickly looked up at the clock, double checking to see that she was not late. A grin spread across her face.

"I made it," Ayame's grin grew as she saw the frown on Nakamura- sensei's face.

"You weren't here when the bell rang. You're late," Nakamura argued, sliding a stapler slightly to the left so that it was parallel with the papers. In truth, Ayame had not been in the classroom when the bell had begun to ring.

"What?" she put her hands on her hips, "I was here before it ended! So I'm on time."

His eyes narrowed as he stared down his least favorite student- not that he would ever admit it out loud. He had to get rid of her quick. The bell had already ringed and he had yet to start the lesson. He had a tight schedule that he had planned out the night before. But he couldn't just let her get the best of him. He was the teacher and this was _his _classroom. He watched as the raven-haired girl made her way to her desk.

"You weren't seated when the bell rang. Therefore you are late," He wanted to see her find the loophole in that.

Ayame's eyes narrowed slightly at this, but the moment of irritation did not last long. Her grin spread across her face- the grin that Nakamura had learned to deeply abhor.

"Well, you can write me down as tardy when you show me somewhere in the handbook where it says _anything_ that has to do with that," She said, taking her seat next to Kairi. They exchanged a little greeting, while she scooted her desk closer to his.

"Kirihara." His voice was sharp like a knife, but unfortunately for him Ayame was no easy thing to cut. "Move your desk back to where it belongs."

He knew he had lost that little tiff, but that was only a tiny battle. There was still the war. He had _made sure_ that all of the desk were in perfect alignment, so that he would have a clear and easy path up and down the rows of his classroom. The man was not about to allow this girl- this _child_- to ruin his order.

Ayame scooted her chair back into place, only rolling her eyes to show any sign of annoyance. Nakamura stood up from his desk to start the lesson for the day, slightly bothered that he had lost seven minutes and twenty-three seconds because of the child.

"As you know Shakespeare is a classic. His plays are pure genius, showing human nature in each one of his characters. He depicts humans' jealousy, love, greed, hate," he spared a glance at Ayame, who only grinned back, "selfishness. And his words are not always supposed to be interpreted one way…"

He continued his lecture and Ayame tried her best not to yawn. She didn't know if she could stay awake for the man's praise of Shakespeare. She didn't even know if she could stomach it. He was praising a dead man for God's sake and with such intensity. But she knew she couldn't do anything to keep herself entertained or she would get a one-way ticket to detention. Subsequently, it would earn her a talk with her mother and she did _not _want to talk to her mother.

Her eyes lit up when a paper landed noiselessly on her desk. The female Kirihara looked to her left to see Kairi dutifully taking notes on Nakamura's lecture. He looked up swiftly, making eye contact with his best friend then looking down to the note that lay conspicuously on her desk.

She quickly removed it from the top of her desk before Nakamura had a chance to see it. Ayame checked to see that her sensei was still revering the long dead play writer at the front of the room and for once was not watching her like a hawk.

_You OK? How was last night? Still awkward?_

She smiled a little at Kairi's note. He was always watching out for her and she would forever be grateful for that. Looking up, she made sure that Nakamura was still paying her no mind. She expeditiously wrote a reply and put her hand under her desk. Kairi reached over slowly to take the note back.

He opened it and suppressed the frown that wanted to form on his lips as he read her response.

_Haha. I'm good. Last night was awesome. I made friends with Fuji-senpai! _

He was not expecting that. He had heard that Fuji was a very popular guy. He had many followers and a good percent of them were female. What if Ayame fell for him? Kairi shook away those thoughts. He had to give her more credit. He had to give himself more credit…

He wrote his reply, telling her that that was great and that he was happy she made friends with him. He passed the note back to her, being as sneaky as a ninja.

She quickly opened it, looking over its contents.

"Kirihara," Crap, "Would you like to read that out loud?"

She shut her eyes and groaned. She opened them to look at her sensei; a quick movement caught her gaze from the corner of her eye. Only her eyes trailed to Junko, as the brown haired girl turned in her seat. Ayame took note, turning her attention back to the man that stood stiffly at the front of the room.

"Nah. Isn't that kind of old school?" Nakamura suppressed a frown. She had a comment for everything, didn't she?

"What? But you're always so apt to share your thoughts with the class," he almost sneered, "If I remember correctly, you were dancing about your test just two days ago."

Some of the class let out a giggle at the memory.

Ayame bit her lip, as she stood up to read the note. Nakamura walked to stand right behind her for more than one reason. One was to make sure she read the whole note. Another was to make her feel inferior because of their height difference. The latter did not work out too well, for she knew that she was no way inferior to the man in a way that she truly cared about. He might be good at English, but she did not mind that. Who needed the language anyways?

"Ok, so here's what it says. 'You Ok. How was last night? Still awkward?'" She read the first line. "Do I really have to read this? It's not that interesting."

She didn't mind the attention. She received it all the time. When you wore the school uniform like she did you could expect that some would stare.

"Read it."

"Did I ever tell you how neat your papers looked?" She tried to get on his good side. She nearly complimented his hair, but she didn't want that horrible of a lie to leave her lips.

"Kirihara." His voice was a warning. She almost said 'That's my name. Don't wear it out.' But felt that would get her into even deeper cow pie.

"Fine. Then it goes: 'Haha. I'm good. Last night was awesome. I made friends with Fuji-senpai. Smiley face'"

Some of the class chuckled at how she even read the emoticon.

On the other hand, Nakamura's eyes widened. How could they be friends so fast? How could he find pleasure in knowing that the girl before him was not enjoying her study sessions when she now had found a friend in her tutor? How could they dissolve that awkwardness that sat with them like a whole other person so quickly? This didn't make sense. Then again Ayame didn't exactly make sense to him either. A child with such a short attention span and lack of respect for his would never make sense to Nakamura.

Ayame took notice of how her sensei's eyes widened, as she looked at him with her peripheral vision. She grinned, having won another battle that day. Man. Was this Wednesday a good day or what?

~S~C~S~

"I knew you could find the fun in those tutor sessions," Mine said, shaking a little amount of soy sauce onto her rice.

"Yeah. That was quick though," Kairi interjected. It still bugged him that they were such fast friends, not that he would ever wish awkwardness onto Ayame.

"Well, I saw that we had some things in common," Ayame let a small smile grace her lips. She left out how she had met his brother and Yuuta's aversion to him. She felt it might be personal and even though she was a blabber mouth she did know when to stop. Sometimes…

"Like?" Mine queried before popping a piece of sushi into her mouth. Kairi did the same, but his eyes never left his best friend.

"We're… we're..," she searched for something, anything. In reality, Fuji had only chuckled at her unusual proposal for friendship and shook her hand. Afterwards, they had gone back to studying, with Ayame veering off-topic every other minute. "we're both sportsmen! But I'm a girl, so I guess I'm a sports_woman_ and he's a sports_man_. Hey! That's no fair," she banged her hand on the lunch table, commanding full attention from her two friends, "Girls need their own word. We get _wo_man and half of it is _man!_ Same thing for female. And humans' are called _man_kind. It's so sexist. Is this the world we live in? A world with sexism? But the world also has rubber duckies… I do like rubber duckies-"

"Aya," Mine cut in, looking up from her food. She knew that if she did not stop the girl, then she would ramble on for eons, only stopping to breath. "Stay on topic. And eat those."

"Eat what?" Ayame tried her best to look innocent.

"I think she might be talking about the things you picked out of your sushi," Kairi gestured with his chopsticks to the cucumbers that lay in solitude in her bento. He smiled down at Ayame out of amusement. She promptly gave him a raspberry, cheeks blown out.

"But they're so nasty," Ayame groaned. She poked the vegetables in a manner that a child would to a dead animal: in disgust and curiosity. How could such a nasty food be an ingredient in one of her favorite foods?

"Eat them," Mine repeated. She pointed towards the uneaten cucumbers with her own chopsticks, "If you don't, you'll be as unhealthy as you are lazy."

"Woah. That's pretty unhealthy," Ayame stated, not even attempting to deny the stipulation that she was, in fact, a lazy individual. She shoved the vegetable into her mouth, grimacing as she chewed.

"Good girl," Kairi ruffled her hair, smiling and earning him a jab from the girl. Mine hid a frown as she continued to eat her own meal, on the verge of finishing it. As she chewed her food a thought hit her.

"Aya," She tapped at the girl's bento to catch her attention. The green-eyed girl looked up from her torture in the form of vegetables hopefully, "I got the staff to allow us the use the weight room for practice today. It's after school ends, so don't be late." Mine almost rolled her eyes at the look of disappointment Ayame gave her when she moved, unstopped, to pick up another thinly sliced piece of cucumber. Only her knowledge that Ayame had a mere several slices left kept her from doing so.

"How many of the girls are coming?" Kairi voiced for her, letting the raven-haired girl finish the last of her cucumbers.

"It's just us." Mine answered him and a small smile tugged at her lips as she directed her attention the boy.

"Aw man! That means that I'll have to work harder!" Ayame piped up.

"Yes, because I will be watching you as the _club manager_, so no slacking off."

Ayame pouted and stare down at the table. She poked her bottom lip out and furrowed her eyebrows. Practice was fun. That much she would admit. It was that she had to actually work Her mind reeled back to the times before this when she had solo training with Mine. The only way she could describe her friend in this scenario was as a slave driver.

Thinking of slave drivers made Ayame suddenly think of a certain boy.

"Oh hey. I need to go tell Fuji-senpai I won't be at practice," Ayame pushed herself up from the table, surveying the room to find the tensai. When she spotted the top of his head from across the lunchroom, she stood to her full height ready to walk over to him.

"Ayame, how do you plan to get home?" Kairi stopped her.

"Uhh… By walking. Or I could fly if walking bothers you too much," She raised an eyebrow at his question. How else would she get home? It wasn't as if she could drive a car.

"Well, I could walk you home, not that I doubt your ability to fly or anything," Mine raised an eyebrow. Her face was skeptical, but her countenance went unnoticed by her companions. What was he doing?

"Nah, it's ok," She waved off his offer and turned to walk to her tutor across the room, "Fuji-senpai actually doesn't live that far. It's only a couple of blocks."

"What time do you leave?" He pressed on.

"Eight, I think." She brought her finger to her chin in thought, "Yeah. It's eight."

"That's really late. If he lives so close, then I can easily come and get you." Ayame opened her mouth to tell him he really didn't have to go out of his way, but Kairi quickly cut her off, "We haven't walked home together in a while."

Ayame instantly closed her mouth and stare at her best friend for a moment. She really did not want to be a bother to him or anyone for that matter. Thinking about this, she realized that she and Kairi had not been walking home together like they had been years before. When had they stopped? She hid her surprise when the dots had all connected. The fifth grade, that's when everything had seemed to stop.

She gave Kairi a small smile.

"That would be awesome," the girl said, to Mine's quiet disappointment. The thought that the two were _childhood_ friends quelled her light unhappiness. The two brunettes watched as the female Kirihara was finally able to leave the table before engaging in light chatter.

Fuji caught sight of the thin boxer as she came closer and closer to his table. It really was hard to miss her. Her socks today were a loud pink, much like the hue of a highlighter. Really her appearance and choice of sport surprised him. She was thin and her hands looked delicate. The length of her hair also did not help her image as a boxer and neither did the bow that she always wore in her dark locks instead of laced upon her uniform blouse. But her personality…

"Yo, Fuji-senpai!" She called when she was sure she was within his hearing radius. A wave was sent his way as she continued to close the distance between herself and his table. When she arrived at the table, she slammed her hands down all but gently. He noticed her large grin.

"Aya-chan, nyah! You're eating lunch with us?" Eiji beamed from his place next to Fuji. Ayame held the most interesting of conversations in his opinion, but unfortunately he was only able to see her during practice.

"Nope. Sorry, Eiji-senpai. I already finished anyway," She stuck her tongue out childishly, "And Mine-chan forced me to eat cucumbers. Bleh!"

"Ah! That's horrible, nyah~!" He pouted along with the girl.

"You didn't have to eat it," Ayame tried to out-pout the redhead, "Mine-chan is too uptight. It would have been better if they were pickles. Those taste way better."

"They do. They're so much saltier, nyah~. But those are all bumpy and look nasty."

"True, true. But you can always close your eyes. You can't close your tongue though, so I'll take a pickle any day," the girl said, using her logic to make her point.

"Saa, you can always put wasabi on it. That makes everything better," Fuji pitched in.

"NO!" Eiji looked at his friend in horror.

Fuji only chuckled at the acrobat's reaction. It truly was Eiji's fault for stealing his sushi. The tensai turned his gazed back to the sole girl at the table.

"By the way, Ayame-san, what did you need?" He knew full well that if he let a conversation continue she would veer so far from what her initial intent was that she might forget it. Being with her for consecutive hours while trying to teach her and guide her through a book had taught him that much.

"Oh yeah! I'm not going to make your practice today," A whining sound came from Eiji's direction, "I'm gonna be practicing myself actually. But I'll meet you by the school gates at the end." Her face scrunched up slightly at the mention of her own practice. She could only guess that she was out of shape; horribly so. Practiced had not occurred in a while since boxing season was in the fall and she didn't exactly try in gym.

Fuji nodded in acknowledgement.

"Oh, Aya-chan, can I watch you practice?" Eiji asked excitedly. He had never watched a match, let alone see someone box.

"You can't skip practice," Fuji addressed his friend, "Unless you want to run laps."

Fuji seemed to think about the last part of his sentence. Maybe he should encourage Eiji to go and watch Ayame. Practice was becoming boring, but maybe if Eiji were to get in trouble…

"No way, Eiji-senpai!" Ayame told him, "You might die from all the laps you'll have to run." She had not enjoyed running laps when she had interrupted their practice. Just thinking of how many the acrobat would have to run for _skipping_ practice sent a shiver down her spine.

Eiji let out an 'eep' at the thought and told Ayame he didn't think that he would be able to make her practice.

Giving them a parting smile, Ayame pushed herself away from the table and started to take her leave. As an afterthought, she turned her head back to the table.

"Our tutor thing ends at eight right?"

~S~C~S~

Ayame groaned as she reached for her toes. They seemed so far away all of a sudden. It was hard for her to believe that she could reach her little piggys just a month ago. Giving up on her feet, she looked towards her other foot and the figure with short dark brown hair behind it.

"Mine-chan, I can't do it! I think my legs got longer or something. I just can't reach my stinkin' feet."

Sighing, Mine walked behind her lazy friend and kneeled. She placed her hands on the raven haired girls back and lightly pushed her in the direction of her foot.

"Ow ow ow!" Ayame finally grasped her toe, "That's as far as I go."

"You're as flexible as a ruler. What have you been doing all this time?" Even though she had asked the question she could basically guess. Nothing. Ayame had done nothing and that was exactly why the brunette had planned this practice session.

"Can I be one of those awesome bendy rulers?" Mine rolled her eyes from her position behind Ayame on the mat. "I guess that's a no. Well, I've…I've done…. Some stuff?"

Mine found no joy in being correct. Being correct meant dealing with one rusty Kirihara Ayame.

…

It had taken them longer to finish the stretching exercises than Mine had calculated. She could only think to blame Ayame's complaints of pulling a muscle or ligament or some other part of her body that Mine did not even believe to be pull-able.

The female Kirihara now stood in front of a punching bag waiting for any orders from her manager. Mine picked up her clipboard and skimmed it over before heading over to the radio that sat on the other end of the table. Finding a quick paced song on her iPod, she hooked the two up and played the song

A grin replaced the pained frown on Ayame's face. She knew this exercise. Her hands came up to her face in they're defensive position. A fist quickly snapped out and collided with the punching bag, sending it away from her. The fist instantly recoiled back into its defensive position.

The feeling of connecting with the bag in front of her was exhilarating. It had been awhile since she had felt this way. She sent a couple more quick jabs at the sack and could feel her stress fading with those rhythmic punches.

Nakamura, the test, her mother… She could list more things as she punched the bag matching the melody of the song.

Mine looked on at her friend and could feel a small smile tug at her lips. She knew Ayame needed something like this, no matter how much she hid her ill-feelings. No matter how hard Ayame tried, Mine would always be able to read her.

She watched the girl punch and jab, looking back and forth between her and the clipboard that she held. Mine noted that Ayame's punches had become considerably weaker over the time that she had not been practicing. They would have to fix that. The pencil flew across the page as the brunette changed the boxer's training regimen. Looking back up she noticed that Ayame's punches were not only weaker, but had become slower. Mine could not help but find this weird. Speed was Ayame's domain.

"What are you doing?" Mine refused to believe that the girl had become this bad.

"Do you _hear_ this song?" Ayame looked incredulous. Mine shook her head and soon noticed the song that was currently playing. It was slow and soothing lullaby. Mine grimaced.

"Oh. Sorry," She flicked to the next song to find that it was another classical song, slow and melodic Aggravated, she pressed the fast forward button more ruthlessly than before. Another classical song. "Darnit."

Ayame stifled a laugh. Unlike her own iPod she knew Mine's to be filled with classical and calming music. Many were on the device so the brunette could practice the songs by ear on her beloved piano. The only fast and "new" music that she had were ones that Ayame had forced her to put on her iPod.

Mine stopped clicking through songs in irritation as a dainty hand came into her peripheral view. She turned to see Ayame standing next to her, unplugging her iPod and replacing it with her own.

"Here," Ayame stifled another giggle, her bell ringing from the vibrations, "We can use mine. We'll use the old playlist." She gave Mine a warm smile that she couldn't help but return. They both loved the nostalgic feeling that the first melody brought.

~S~C~S~

Silence permeated in the room. In the quiet, the girl stared intensely at the cover of the horrid book in concentration and thought. She had to be getting closer to the answer, Fuji couldn't help but think. Even so, as time began to pass she still had not given him an answer. He watched as the look went from that of concentration to one of… dislike? Her face really looked what he imagined her countenance to be if she were constipated. Fuji chuckled. Catching the sound, Ayame looked up.

"What?"

"Oh nothing," he chuckled more, "Just thinking."

Ayame shrugged and turned her attention back to the book cover. This was entertaining, but it was getting them nowhere. The front door clicked, telling the room's occupants that it had been opened.

"Hello, Yuuta," A warm smile adorned Fuji's face.

"Hi," the youngest Fuji sibling turned his attention to the girl sitting next to his brother, "Are you constipated or something?"

Snapping out of her trance, she looked up to see Yuuta standing in front of her.

"No! That's my thinking face," she stuck her tongue out at him.

"You make thinking look painful," he answered back.

"Shut up! What are you doing here anyway?"

"Nee-san said she was making raspberry pie," he stated simply, taking a seat next to her on the couch.

Taking his chance to bond with his brother, Fuji tried to start a conversation.

"Yuuta, how was your day at school?" he questioned and oddly Ayame felt awkward sitting in the middle. It was like she was just cut out of the conversation. But oddly enough again she could understand Fuji's actions. He just wanted some time with brother.

"Fine."

"That's good. What happened?" Fuji inquired further.

"Nothing."

Silence enveloped the trio. Fuji felt that if he pressed, on his intentions would only annoy Yuuta, causing them to drift farther apart.

Ayame looked from brother to brother. What was this? This feeling? It was not the coziness that she felt with her own brother as they joked and taunted each other. It was so much more… serious. And awkward. She looked towards Yuuta again. What was his problem? She smiled as an idea popped into her head.

"Hey. Did you guys know that carrots use to be purple?"

Both brothers gave her a weird look.

"What? Where did you hear that bologna?" Yuuta shot at her.

"I read it in a book." A proud smile shined on her face.

"You read a book?" Yuuta teased. Maybe he could get her back for the day before, "So how did they suddenly turn orange." Ayame overlooked the sarcasm in his tone. She knew he was only playing.

"Mutations." Ayame discreetly tapped Fuji on the leg. She stayed silent as she waited for his response.

"Saa, I heard about that. Wasn't it because people would much rather eat something orange than purple," Fuji gave her a smile as thanks for this opportunity. She gave him a genuinely warm smile in return. To make their relationship better was a wondrous thing in her eyes. She slid herself back into the conversation. It went on for a good half hour until Yuuta brought them back to reality.

"What's with that book?" Ayame could feel a cloud of depression over her head as everything came back to the book. Soon enough they were back to studying with Yuuta watching. He peered over her shoulder at a passage in the book and scrunched his face up in confusion. "Hey, what's that word mean?"

Ayame followed his finger to the word that lay upon the page. "I don't really know. I think the dude who wrote this book just made up a bunch of words."

Fuji couldn't believe it! That was her problem? She didn't know the definitions of some of the words? This is what hindered her from fully comprehending the book? He felt an urge to slap his face at her stupidity, but also felt an odd urge to chuckle and smile at the girl. Thinking about how she helped with Yuuta he really couldn't help but think that Kirihara Ayame was an interesting girl.

~S~C~S~

Kairi picked her up at eight on the dot.

"Bye guys!" She waved as she closed the door. "Hey Kairi!"

"Hey," he smiled down at her, "How was it?"

"Way better! We know what my problem is and Fuji even has a Shakespeare to English dictionary!" She chirped and skipped a little bit ahead of Kairi. He caught back up to her easily as she twirled in happiness, "I'm not going to fail!"

"I hope that you don't. Then you would have another year of Nakamura," he replied. His best friend moaned from her spot beside him and he couldn't help but let out a laugh.

Their walk continued on in animated conversation with Ayame changing the topic every minute and Kairi easily following the flow because of years of practice. They stopped on the sidewalk, their comfortable conversation coming to a halt. They were in front of the Kirihara residence.

"Did you want to come to my house?" Kairi hoped that she would say yes.

She stared at the house for a few moment. She noticed that the lights were on, signaling that the only other occupant of the house was inside.

"Sure."

For the second time that day she felt grateful for having a friend like Kairi as she walked away from the house, never taking another look back.

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I hope it wasn't boring. It was needed to show relationships between my OCs. So please review and tell me if you liked it, want to give me some tips, or even if you hated it so much that it induced projectile vomiting! No really. I'm serious. Also go to my profile to see stories that are 'up and coming' and send me PMs (Or you could send it in a review) and tell me whether you like them or not. Warning: They are not Prince of Tennis. But if you love Naruto or Bleach then I really want to see what you think! Oh and this chapter wasn't really edited so its all lemony fresh. Bye for now!**

******~Taz**


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